The cultural treasure of the city
Municipal Library of Patra
Adress: 110 Maizonos Str., Patras
Tel. of Reading Room +30 2610 224813
mail: [email protected]
https://patraslibrary.weebly.com
Municipal Library of Patra
The origins of the Municipal Library of Patras lie in the donation of the library of the “Patra Craft Company” to the Municipality of Patras in 1903.
Δημοτική Βιβλιοθήκη Πατρών – Αναγνωστήριο / Municipal Library of Patras – Reading Room
In 1908, after petitions through the local Press, the Municipal Library of Patras was founded, and the first Supervisory Committee was elected. The Library was housed in the school on the corner of Gounari and Karaiskaki Streets. Two years later, in 1910, the official opening ceremony took place.
The Library closed in 1926, abandoned, and its contents were stored in the basement of the Municipality until 1944, when a group of book lovers transported them to the house of former mayor Ioannis Vlachos and subsequently to the Karamandani Mansion, on 42 Maizonos Street.
Δημοτική Βιβλιοθήκη Πατρών – Αρχιτεκτονικό σχέδιο / Municipal Library of Patra – Floorplan
In 1947 the postwar Municipal Library was inaugurated, with 18,200 books, mostly donated by the public. In 1948, by royal decree, the Library became a legal entity governed by public law. In 1955 the new building was inaugurated, and the books transported there.
Since 2011, the Library is part of a newly founded legal entity governed by public law, under the name “Municipal Library-Cultural Organization of the Municipality of Patras”. It comprises the Central Library (110 Maizonos Street) and the Annex (Eleftheria Square, 26 Fokaias Street). The ground floor houses the Children’s Department and the Municipal Gallery. Visitors can use the reading room, borrow books, access the Internet, use the computers for research purposes, and there are workstations for people with disabilities.
Head of the Library is the librarion Ms. Aikaterini Kourou
Future plans
The Municipal Library of Patras falls under the category of public libraries. Within this framework, its plans include the restoration of the buildings and the upgrading of services and functions, in order to develop into a large central public library that will support the right to self-education and public education, providing access to every resident of the city. Furthermore, it may also become the centre of a network of municipal/public libraries in the neighbouring municipalities and regions.
Δημοτική Βιβλιοθήκη Πατρών – Εκπαιδευτικό πρόγραμμα / Municipal Library of Patra − Educational programme
For the moment, a study for the creation of a modern section for children/teenagers, a department for digital technologies and an exhibition of rare books and documents is underway.
Moreover, funding is being sought for the installation of digital services through the use of radio-frequency identification technology (RFID).
ΕΚΔΟΣΕΙΣ
‘Loxodromia’: Art exhibition by Vasilis Thalassinos at the Michael Cacoyannis Foundation| 22 May-01 June 2025
In 1537, Pedro Nunes, a Portuguese mathematician devoted to experimentation, studied certain navigation aspects, and realised that a ship sailing on a fixed compass bearing follows a spiralling course or curve that intersects all the meridians at the same angle. His observations determined the neologism ‘loxodromia’ later on. Flower| Mixed technique on densely woven canvas, 1 x 1 m In his new solo exhibition, Vasilis Thalassinos borrows the nautical term attempting to translate a different kind of long-distance and stubborn voyage, that of painting. He presents us with artworks created in the last decade ...More
Archaeological Museum of Thessaloniki| Lina Mendoni at the opening of the exhibition “In the Cave: Stories from Darkness to Light”
The Minister of Culture Lina Mendoni inaugurated, on Thursday 15 May 2025, the temporary exhibition, "In the Cave: Stories from Darkness to Light", in cooperation with the Archaeological Museum of Thessaloniki and the Paleoanthropology-Caveology Ephorate. It is the first time that an archaeological exhibition is being organized, which highlights the cultural significance of caves - from the Paleolithic era to the present day - which were created in the distant past by natural processes, attracting man, as they offered him shelter and protection from his first steps. 296 objects from 30 caves and rock shelters of ...More
Athens Epidaurus Festival| Press conference for “Antigone”, directed by Ulrich Rasche
In the midst of rehearsals for the upcoming world premiere at the Epidaurus Festival, the cast and crew of Sophocles' Antigone, as directed by Ulrich Rasche, held a press conference at the Goethe Institute in Athens, on Monday 19 May 2025. The current artistic director of the Athens Epidaurus Festival, Katerina Evangelatos, welcomed the German director for the second time in Greece, while the new artistic director of the National Theatre of Greece, Argyro Chiotis, participated in the coordination of the press conference, as the performance is a co-production of the two organizations, with the support ...More
The Archaeological Museum of Heraklion bids farewell to Yannis Tzedakis
The Archaeological Museum of Heraklion sadly bids farewell to the important archaeologist and man Yannis Tzedakis, who constituted a great chapter in the archaeological research of Crete and was Head of the Ephorate of Prehistoric and Classical Antiquities and the Archaeological Museum of Heraklion (1978-1979). He was also Head of the Ephorates of Prehistoric and Classical Antiquities of Western Crete, Cyclades, Palaeoanthropology-Speleology, the Directorate of Prehistoric and Classical Antiquities and General Director of Antiquities of the Ministry of Culture. He organized numerous temporary exhibitions abroad for the promotion of ancient Greek culture. He founded the Department ...More
Leave A Comment